Austin, TX, WPH Press, 3/29/26
The University of Texas Handball Team presented the 2026 Southwest Regional Championships at Gregory Gym in Austin, TX, featuring several of the Race 4 Eight’s top men’s and women’s stars, including R48 #1 Martin Mulkerrins and WR48 #2 Aoife Holden.
Men’s Open Singles
R48 #1 Martin Mulkerrins entered the 2026 Southwest Regional Championships as the top seed and advanced to the final in the upper bracket by defeating newly-minted R48 pro Dylan Schmitt in the upper bracket semifinals.
Diarmuid Mulkerrins erased the sting of a disappointing showing at last week’s LAAC’s Race 4 Eight by exacting revenge on his LAAC vanquisher Taylor Schmitt in the quarterfinals and defeating R48 #6 and second-seeded Danos Cordova in the bottom bracket semifinals to meet his brother in the final.
Martin and Diarmuid battled in a grueling two-game final, with Martin edging his brother to win the title.
“Delighted to get the win this weekend, especially as it’s hard to do back-to-back weekends,” Martin would tell the WPH. “It was a very tough final and long final, around 90 minutes. It is always tough playing Diarmuid, he’s a great player, knows my game better than anyone and puts a hand on everything! I think he is finding his form again which is great to see.”
Semifinals
Mulkerrins def D. Schmitt 21-13, 21-11
Mulkerrins def Danos 21-19, 21-12
Final: Martin def Diarmuid 21-12, 21-17
Women’s Open Singles
WR48 #2 Aoife Holden was ruthless in the women’s draw at the 2026 Southwest Regional Championships, outscoring her opponents 126-41 in her three matches in Austin. Holden overcame UT’s Kristen Hughes in a competitive final to stake her claim as best in the Southwest.
Semifinals
Holden def Rivers 21-4, 21-4
Hughes def Behne 21-11, 21-0
Final: Holden def Hughes 21-5, 21-12
Thank you to the University of Texas Handball Team for hosting an outstanding event at UT’s Gregory Gym.
Pictures courtesy of Eilish Owens
WPH Destination Series Austin HERE
Follow all of the brackets from the 2026 Southwest Regional Championships HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer